Why? - As a white woman from a small, West Texas town, Ms. Wall said, "I wanted to know what it would be like to be part of a “noticeable minority.”

Spencer Wall, a 20-year-old sociology and English senior from Texas, decided to assume the characteristics and attire of a “typical” Muslim woman for a year starting in late April.

She wears the “hijab” and loose-fitting clothing everywhere she goes and does not consume pork or alcohol in public. She avoids eye and physical contact with men and has adopted modest habits like walking with her arms glued to her sides or crossed in front of her to hide her chest.

“I’m not representing Muslim women or the Muslim community,” she says. “I just want to know what it’s like to walk in their shoes . .”

She insists her decision is not a social experiment but, it is more about her personal learning experience.

I first noticed Ms. Wall in my religion and society class toward the end of last semester. She wasn’t particularly outspoken, but the shawl that covered her hair, neck and shoulders made her stand out in the large class.

I usually gave her nothing more than a completely unconscious glance. But when she revealed to the class the decision that she made on April 27, I suddenly became aware of the attention I gave her.

I witnessed the looks Wall gets on a daily basis when we met at Kerbey Lane on the Drag recently.

She’s wearing a hijab splashed with vibrant shades of green and blue. A long-sleeved, black shirt and floor-length aqua skirt reveals only a few inches of skin.

Some who pass us try to be inconspicuous with their intrigue, limiting themselves to quick side glances. But most don’t even try to be candid with their exaggerated double-takes or blatant stares.

She passes by a group waiting to be seated, and all of them stare at the back of her head as she walks away. One guy even rolls his eyes.

“It doesn’t surprise me,” she says when I tell her about the group. “But look around. They’re not the only ones.”

Initially, Wall elaborates on her “learning experience” when people would ask her questions, the most common being “So, where are you from?” She has abandoned these efforts.

Now, when people ask about her attire, she simply says,

"I'm not Muslim" but wears the hijab, "because I choose to do it".

This explanation is not entirely untrue, as Wall admits to not being able to leave her home without the clothing.

“I decided a while ago that I was going to try and not wear the hijab for 24 hours,” she says. “I couldn’t even make it for half that.”

Wall says she receives different reactions when she wears the hijab.

* One man once fell into a display at Wal-Mart because he was staring at her.

* One day a group of men at the restaurant where she works refused to be served by her. They also called her very nasty bad names.

But most of the time she said she is just respectfully avoided.

“I wouldn’t say guys don’t hit on me, but they do so in a very different way now,” she says. “It’s more respectful, less forward.”

The experience has taught Wall to pay attention to smaller details that would make a traditional Muslim lifestyle difficult to follow in the United States.

One day at a clothing store, Wall had to ask for a sheet to cover a gap between the floor and dressing room door so she could hide her bare legs as she changed.

Her job as a waitress presents one of the most awkward situations as it naturally entails a lot of physical contact with strangers:

"That is just not permitted for Muslim women", she said.

Wall has grown to appreciate this sort of privacy and, in some ways, respect it.

Perhaps the most unexpected outcome of the experience is a newfound devotion to her belief in God.

The Islamic faith requires followers to pray five times a day, the first prayer being at 5 A.M.

Although she has not yet assumed the tradition of five times a day, she admits she may do so in the future, but she does pray a lot more often.

“You know we live in a society that is very unconscious of daily religious activities,” she said. “Throughout this experience, I have noticed myself becoming much more aware of God.”

Throughout our conversation, I find myself wanting to discuss the most obvious topic, but can’t bring it up without having to continually justify myself. Doesn’t she feel constricted and even oppressed by the practices she is assuming?

Wall’s candidness to discuss such issues validates my impression of her. She constantly reassures me to ask even the most probing questions and to present any debate, illustrating a maturity and intelligence uncommon for a 20-year-old.

“This experience has taught me to respect a woman’s decision to stay home with her children or wear a hijab or go out and become CEOs,” Wall said.

She finishes her sentence, as I notice a young woman staring at the back of Wall’s head.

Her eyes momentarily follow the outline of the brightly colored veil and then quickly move away. Instead of feeling sorry for Wall and assuming that the attention is warranted by feelings of resentment or fear, I soon wonder if the girl is instead intrigued by the hijab.

Wall admits to only showing her hair in the most intimate of settings, and I realize that I’m slightly jealous of someone who respects something I easily take for granted.

What are your thoughts?

Should she become a Muslim? Should she stop wearing hijab until she does? Can she just do her prayers, believe in God and keep wear hijab without being a Muslim?

Could she continue learning about Islam and take everything just one step at a time?

Leave a message (right here below) for her (and other Christian girls)!

Comments

I'm actually researching this topic, because I'm a Christian women. I want to wear hijab n abaya. I have been trying to find out if it's wrong or not. Honestly I want to build a closer relationship with God And I'm tired men looking at my body with such disrespect.

With the Name of Allah, The important fact about Hijab is giving the piece for the women by first respecting her self then the society will respect her. In Yemen there is a Jewish community, their women have adapted the Islamic calture, so they are wearing Hijab, not only that they cover their face as well when they go in public. Therefore Ms. Wall did not bring any thing new. But her experience is very interesting specially in USA. As a man if I see a girl with Hijab, I can not keep looking at her for long time, because I know that she want to respect and protect her self from men's eyes. I am not saying that women without Hijab doesn't not respect them self. But Hijab will give more respect. What I would do if I were her, I will Ask from the deep of my heart to the one who has created to guide me to the right path.

Asalamu alaikum warahmatullahi wabaraktuh.I really appretiate and can understand the decision of wall's but i will really advice her to continue researching about islam but i fear for you sister that death comes before that and i really warn you and all the other sisters who are christians and researching abt islam about death because it comes without being known.i will advice you to first emprace islam then you continue reserching and inshallah Alah loves those who come near him and gets closer to him and may he inshallah guide you to the right path inshallah inshallah

Salamu alaikum. She is more of a muslim than she knows. My advice to her is to study islam crically and make up her mind because time is passing. No one knows when he or she will die. If she dies in the state she is now(as a non muslim) since she has not pronounced the shahada,the wearing of hijab will be of no use to her. I hope and pray that she will actually become a muslim. May Allah guide us all onto His straight path. Amin

Hello dear. I greatly commend what you did with your personal experiment. This coming Tuesday, I am giving a demonstration speech. I am going to demonstrate/teach my class how to wrap a simple Hijab. I think they are beautiful. I like wearing them. As of right now, I only wear it in my room. I will never convert to Islam however, I appreciate what Islamic women and their example on how to be modest.

@ geeskethe bible mentions hijab too. should u forget about the bible because its a thing of the past? in the west don't non-muslims cover their heads, such as christian nuns, amish, quakers, orthodox jews, Sikhs, elderly women cover their heads on chilly days. even in cold climates during the winter people are covered from head to toe. I'm from ny.when does Christianity forbid wearing decent clothes?if ur over 18 then no 1 can stop u from wearing hijab.

Of course we can, but in the west it isn't so easy to do this as a christian. People confuse us with muslims etc. or think we are cold. I'm protestant and feeling secure when wearing a hijab. My problem is that my father is a preacher, once he caught me wearing a hijab he asked me immediately or I'd become muslim. He should have known better, he is a preacher after all he studied theology. I did ask him once, but all he said that it was something from the past and that we live in the west. So...I'm kind of stuck...I want to wear decent clothes, but my dad and other family members won't allow. so I only have one choice I guess to leave my country perhaps after finishing studies and find some people that do understand christian women can also wear a hijab.

Btw I'm happy that I'm not the only christian woman who likes to wear hijabs or feels more comfortable when wearing them.

I too love wearing hijab. never have to worry about deciding what to wear, keeping up with latest fashion trends or having a bad hair day. can be fashionable & yet have some privacy.just remember that the best woman of creation also wore hijab (mary).oppressed by the practices she is assuming? maybe the sterotypes of veiled women are oppressive.

Im a Christian girl and strong in my faith but have worn Hijab afew times and could possibly wear it full time. This is a great article and shows the application of Islamic principles to a Christian girls life can bring about positive change.

I really appreciate Ms.Wall for wearing proper Hijab, May GOD bless and guide her to Right Path. I am proud of her. If we dig the archives we see pictures of early Jews as well Christens women who immigrated to US along with their families we see they were covering their head with proper scarves as well they would wear loose clothing covering their bodies properly, unfortunately Hollywood changed the trends and we started following them and we can see were we are now. Clothing for women is getting lesser every passing day.....very sad.My humble advise to Ms. Wall is to study religion of Islam from the right source, watch Peace TV, GuideUS TV, Huda TV and ask questions.